Home for Christmas
by Rointheta
Summary: The Doctor and Rose miss Christmas and Jackie is very upset, until the Doctor makes up for it with a big surprise.


_(I'll upload today's Calendar fic when I have time. It needs to be edited down from MA to M)_

**Secret Santa fic for tenxrosetyler, who wanted fluff. **  
**beta**: resile

* * *

**HOME FOR CHRISTMAS**

* * *

"Mum, we're here!" Rose called out when she and the Doctor entered the flat. They hung their coats on a hook on the wall and stepped into the living room. "Mum?"

"Hi, sweetheart," Jackie said, curled up on the sofa in her dressing gown with a cuppa in her hand, eyes locked on the telly.

Rose settled down next to her mum, stroking her arm. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Your bloody Doctor doesn't know how to drive, that's what's wrong."

"Ah." The Doctor sniffed and peered out the window. "Did we perhaps land on the fifth of January, instead of the fifth of December?"

"Perhaps," Jackie said in her very sweetest voice. "Perhaps you missed Christmas. And perhaps I spent it alone in my flat. Perhaps."

Rose threw her arms around her mum, glaring at the Doctor. "I'm so sorry, mum! Why didn't you ring us?"

"I did! Every day, several times per day, for two bloody weeks. Started the week before Christmas, I did. Wanted to know for how long you'd stay this time, but you never picked up! I thought… At first I thought something'd happened. Like in that black hole or whatever it was. That you'd lost the TARDIS and couldn't come home. Or that you'd–" Jackie choked out a sob and wiped her eyes. "But then I heard it just now. That bloody groaning. And you just swan in, like nothing's happened. Like I've not been sitting here alone for weeks, worrying. And I realised you'd just forgotten about me!"

"No! No, I didn't! It's been two weeks since our last visit for us. Right, Doctor? Two weeks as always."

"Well, roughly."

"And my mobile's been all weird since the sanctuary base. Suppose I should get a new one…"

Jackie slipped out of Rose's hug. "You're not getting one for Christmas, you're not. That's for sure."

"I'm so sorry, mum. Is there anything we can do?"

"Go back in time and get here on Christmas Eve. That's what you can do. Save me the misery of sitting alone on Christmas Day and crying myself to sleep."

Rose's stomach twisted. "Oh, mum..."

"I'm sorry, Jackie. But we can't go back in our own timeline."

"No? Then you can go back to your bloody box and let me spend some quality time with my daughter!"

The Doctor swallowed and ducked his head. "Of course. I'll...see you later, Rose," he said, darting off and closing the door behind him before she'd had a chance to respond.

"Mum, he didn't mean to."

"I don't care, do I? I want to be angry with him for a while, so just let me."

"Yeah, all right. At least you didn't slap him this time."

Jackie narrowed her eyes. "Ooh, I should've. No." She held out her hands, palms out, and straightened her back. "I'm not gonna think about that barmy alien. I'm just gonna enjoy my time with my daughter." She turned to Rose, shoulders raised and mouth smiling. "You'll never guess who's pregnant!"

* * *

.

* * *

Rose rolled over on her stomach with a grunt and hid her head under the pillow, blocking out the sound of a man's cheerful singing coming through the walls. She fumbled around on her nightstand after something she could hurl at her door to signal to her mum to turn down the blasted volume but, as her hand curled around her alarm clock, the lyrics penetrated her sleep addled mind.

"There'll be much mistletoeing, and hearts will be glowing when loved ones are near…"

She shot up and ran out of her room, stumbling into the hallway at the same time as her mum. She looked half-asleep, heavy-lidded eyes and puffy cheeks peeking out under a fluffy, blond fringe.

"Rose, what's going on? It's six in the morning, for goodness' sake."

"No idea." She grabbed her mum's hand. "C'mon."

They stepped into the living room and gasped at what they saw. The coffee table had been moved, and a path made out of a narrow red carpet cornered by twinkling lights lead to the far end of the room and into the open TARDIS. Rose looked at Jackie and grinned, tugging her along towards the time ship.

"I'm not going in there!"

"Mum, the Doctor's obviously made a great effort in throwing us a surprise Christmas. Get your bum inside the TARDIS," Rose said, moving to stand behind Jackie and pushing her into the console room.

The path continued towards the corridor leading deeper into the time ship, and took them to a large room Rose had never seen before. To her right stood a gigantic Christmas tree decorated with shiny ornaments and tinsel in blue and silver, colourful lights, blue ribbons, tin-foiled covered santa shaped chocolate, and a glittering star at the top. Shaking her head in disbelief, she gaped at the tree, at the pile of presents underneath it, until movement drew her eyes to the left. She broke out in a smile when she saw the beaming Doctor sitting in a sofa next to an open fireplace with stockings hanging from the mantel. He closed the book in his lap and stood up, waving at them to enter the room.

"Happy Christmas!" His smile slipped when they didn't move. "Ehm," he said, running his hand through his hair, "reckoned that if I couldn't bring us to Christmas, I could bring Christmas to us. I've, ehm, decorated this room, as you can see, and, well, I've made breakfast. And Christmas dinner for later and… Presents! Lots of presents," he said, gesturing at them with one hand, tugging at his ear with the other. "Unless you'd rather not? Or maybe you just want to be alone. Which is fine, of course. I can go tinker in the–"

Jackie interrupted him by sprinting across the room and hurling herself into his arms, squeezing him tight before pressing several pecks to his lips. He pulled a face and wiped his mouth, muttering under his breath as he stepped away from her.

"When did you do all this?" she asked, eyes twinkling with happiness.

"Time machine," he said with a grin. "And...I had a bit of help."

"Elves?" Rose asked.

"Er, no. I did all the shopping and the-the decorating myself, but I asked Sarah Jane for some advice and what Christmas films to get, and had some help in the cooking department. Michel Roux Jr. owed me a favour. I once helped him with a particularly nasty Lichmelkek colony in the freezer of his restaurant and–"

"The bloke in MasterChef? The sexy one? With the accent? And a bit of scruff? Oh, I like a bit of scruff. And a touch of grey… And he can cook! Always loved a bloke who can cook. Beautiful eyes, too. You can tell he's a good man, you can. Is he here, then?" Jackie smoothed out her dressing gown and fluttered her eyelashes, looking around the room. "Did he stay?"

"No. And he's married, Jackie."

"Oh. That's a shame." She shrugged. "Can I go take a look in my stocking?"

"Yes, of course!" Grinning again, the Doctor wrapped his arms around Rose and Jackie and ushered them to the fireplace. "Go on, go have a look. The one with the snowman is Jackie's and the one with the reindeer is Rose's."

Biting her lip, eyes shining with excitement, Jackie snaked a hand into her stocking and fished out two parcels much too large to fit inside it. Her eyes widened, mouth round, and she tugged at the opening of the stocking, peeking in.

"How did you do that, then?"

"Bigger on the inside," Rose said, pulling her own rather large gift out of her stocking. "Time Lord technology."

"Oooh. He can do that with fabric as well? That's handy." She nodded at the Doctor. "Could make a fortune making maternity clothes, you could."

Jackie and Rose settled down on the sofa with their gifts and the Doctor sat down on the floor opposite them, smiling, eyes flitting between the Tyler women and the shiny presents in their lap as though he couldn't wait to see their reactions.

"You go first, mum."

"All right." She slid off the silk ribbons and unwrapped both gifts with careful fingers, folding the golden paper and putting it aside before removing the lids from the boxes she'd uncovered. "Oooh," she said, picking up a silver hand mirror with an ornate handle, and a delicate floral pattern around her initials on the back, and a matching brush and fine toothed comb. "These are gorgeous, they are. Too posh to use, though, yeah?"

"Well, that's what they're for," the Doctor said.

"Oh, thank you!"

Jackie made an effort to get up on her feet but, anticipating her intention, the Doctor held up his hands. "No, no. No need for hugs. I have bought quite a few gifts so we can all have a good hug tonight when all gifts have been given, hm?"

"Oh, all right. Thank you, Doctor."

"Okay. My turn, then." Rose unwrapped her gift as well, knitting her brow and smiling at what she found. "Doctor? This is…"

"Ehm, well, eeer… Sarah told me that in her family they usually, ehm, put something in the stockings that could-could be used during the, ehm, day. Like, for Jackie, she-she can use that when she gets ready and," he said, rubbing his neck, "you can wear that today. If-if you want. Or not. Just… Reckoned you'd maybe want to since it's red. And it's Christmas and.."

She pinched the fabric between her fingers and lifted up the dress, holding it out in front of her. "This is the dress I was looking at when we were at that market. But I didn't have enough...rup– Uhm, rupies?"

"Ruplees. And… Well. I might've fibbed a bit, and bought it when you weren't looking."

"For me?"

He laughed through his nose. "I'm sure I would look rather fetching in it but, yes, I bought it for you. For, er, for Christmas. I was gonna give it to you in a couple of weeks before we visited Jackie for, ehm, for her Christmas dinner, but… Well, that didn't go quite according to plan, did it?"

"No," Rose said with a smile, dropping the dress and flinging herself down on the floor to hug him. She hummed as she gave him a tight squeeze and pulled back, pressing her lips to his cheek. "Thank you, Doctor. I love it."

He beamed at her, looking a little flushed.

"I have something for you as well! I just didn't prepare, 'cause I didn't know." She hopped up on her feet and headed towards the door. "Be right back!" she called over her shoulder.

She ran to her room and pulled out a box from under her bed, opening it and rummaging through it for the gifts she'd hidden there weeks earlier. She hadn't wrapped them yet and didn't have any wrapping paper, so she folded one into a silk handkerchief, tying the corners together, and rolled the second into a tie she'd bought for him before rushing back to the cosy Christmas room. She placed the first under the tree and ran over to the Doctor, settling down beside him on the floor and handing him the other gift.

"Here! Merry Christmas. Uhm. I hadn't wrapped them yet. The tie's a gift, too. Dunno. Maybe that's stupid." She shrugged. "You don't really need ties, I suppose."

A slow smile spread on his face. "Been a long time since anyone gave me a gift…"

"Well, then. Open it!" she said, shifting on the floor from the excitement thrumming through her.

He put the gift in his lap and removed his tie, rolling the new one open, running the brown and blue diagonally striped fabric between his fingers with a pleased hum before tying it around his neck. He tucked it inside his suit jacket and looked up at her, beaming.

"How do I look?"

"Great! Very handsome," she said and he preened, chin tilted up.

"Matches your suit perfectly, it does," Jackie said. "Great choice, Rose."

"Did you see what was inside it?" Rose asked.

He shook his head, looking at her with crinkled brow. "Something was in it?"

"Yeah, maybe it fell into your lap?"

He fumbled around, checking the creases of his trouser legs, and pulled up a small, flat disc with a cry of triumph. He held it up in front of him, grinning. "Oh, of course! A Cruskarian sound disc!" He squinted in confusion. "What for?"

She laughed. "Remember when we were staying at that inn on Oquoooy for a few days? The singing? Uhm, the bards had some technique that–"

"Calmed me when I had nightmares." He nodded, grin softening into a quiet smile. "Yes, I remember. I'd never been on that planet before, but I'd heard of the singing, of course. But I thought it was just a myth. Didn't think it actually worked. When evening falls," he said to Jackie, "bards sing lullabies to stave off bad dreams. They sing and play all night, working in shifts. It's one of the most prestigious professions on that planet. You see, they sing at a frequency that–"

"Turn it on!" Jackie said. "I'd rather hear the actual singing then you blabbering on about it for an hour."

The Doctor slipped the disc into his inner suit pocket with one hand, pointing at the ceiling with the other. "And missing out on this lovely Christmas music that gives us just the right atmosphere this not-quite Christmas Day? I should think not."

"Have it your way, then." Jackie pursed her lips and straightened the hem of her dressing gown across her knees. "Where's that breakfast, anyway? Got a kitchen in this place?"

"'Course we do, mum." Rose rolled her eyes. "What, did you think we went out for every meal?"

"How should I know?"

"Common sense?" Rose grinned. "I'll take you there."

Rose started pushing herself up on her feet, but the Doctor took her hand and tugged her back, making her lose her balance and she tumbled forward. He reached out and caught her in a hug, swaying a bit as he pressed the side of his face close to hers, his sideburn scratching her cheek.

"Thank you." He pulled back, but kept his hands splayed over her back, and she kept hers on his bicepses. "When did you get that? How?"

"You slept late 'cause of the singing." She smiled, ducking her head. "Looked so peaceful, you did. Never seen you so relaxed. Didn't want to wake you. So I snuck downstairs and chatted a bit with the bards who'd just come off their shift. They were having breakfast. They were so lovely and helpful and they're not really allowed to make recordings. But I said you'd only use it in private and they could, uhm, sense things? Like–"

"Low level telepaths, yes."

"Yeah. They knew I was telling the truth. And I knew you had that disc in your pocket, 'cause we'd used it a few days before, so I snuck back upstairs and got it and…the rest his history!" Her smile slipped. "Oh. That's a month ago. I saved it for Christmas, but I should've given it to you right away, shouldn't I? God, that's so thoughtless of me. That's not a gift you save for something. You give it right away."

He chuckled and cupped her cheek. "No, you were very thoughtful, Rose. Thank you. C'mon, let's have that brekkie."

* * *

.

* * *

Several hours later, after breakfast, showering and dressing, watching a few holiday films, and stuffing their stomachs full of Christmas dinner, they sat down on plush cushions around the tree. Rose and Jackie wore paper crowns, but the Doctor had a Santa hat balancing on his head and he handed out gifts with a big grin on his face.

Jackie got most of the pile, and her excited chatter drowned out the music as she browsed all the things she'd unwrapped, fingers gliding over several pairs of glittery, strappy heels; clingy one sized dresses in pink and baby blue that really were one sized, fashioned from a self-fitting fabric; a couple of make up bags filled to the brim with 51st century make up that would last for decades without going bad; knick-knacks and bijouterie; and a 56th century collector's edition box of the most popular Jane Austen adaptations of all time he'd converted into Blu-ray, so she could watch them at home.

"But you can't lend them to anyone." The Doctor jutted his finger at her, eyes stern under a furrowed brow. "Or watch them with anyone, for that matter. Except me and Rose."

"Not even Bev?"

"Bev?"

"She's my best mate. You've even met her! Anyway, she knows everything already. And she can keep a secret, she can. She still hasn't told a soul about the time I shagged that actor from Eastenders." She nodded at the Doctor, eyebrows raised in sincerity. "Not a soul!"

"Oh, well," he said, rolling his eyes, "if she hasn't told anyone about that."

"Actually, I'm with mum on this one. You should hear the things he wanted mum to do."

"No, I really shouldn't."

"I didn't do it, though." Jackie crinkled her nose. "I'm not into the kinky stuff. So we just shagged, we did."

"Yeah, but still. Bev could've sold that story easily. But she didn't. I think Bev's safe," Rose said.

"All right. If Rose says so, I trust her," the Doctor said, beaming at her.

"Only you left," Rose said, moving her small pile of now unwrapped presents to the side and shuffling over on her knees to him. She removed her paper crown, stole the hat from his head and shoved it onto hers, moving to all fours to reach for the last gift under the tree. "Here you go. I… It's–" She shook her head. "Just open it."

He untied the knots and let the silk handkerchief fall open, smiling, eyes sparkling, as he lifted up a framed photo of the two of them. They stood huddled together outside, her arms around his waist and his around her shoulders, beaming faces directed at the sky as they watched the fireworks show.

"It's from New Years."

"Yes, I remember."

"I, uhm, I had it on my phone. When we went to London in 2876 I found a shop that specialised in blowing up low quality photos. And I like that photo of us."

"Mm," he said, staring at the photo with an expression she couldn't quite place. Although the corners of his mouth still curled up, his smile had faded a fraction and his eyebrows had drawn together.

"And… It's stupid, isn't it. S'just… You have everything. What am I supposed to give a man who– And I thought that maybe–'cause I really love having photos of the people I–but I know you don't really do that, but I thought that, uhm, maybe?" She shrugged and sighed. "I dunno."

"I've never seen this before. Are there more?"

"Uhm… Yeah. Yeah! I've got more on my phone and mum's developed a whole bunch of them. From both Christmas and New Years and… Well, all those days we spent here whilst the TARDIS healed."

He looked up at her. "May I see them?"

Her face broke out in a relieved smile. "Yeah! 'Course! 'Course you can. I'll-I'll be back in a tick."

* * *

.

* * *

When she came back to the Christmas room, thick photo album in her arms, Rose found that the TARDIS had moved the projector screen there and Jackie sat on the sofa munching on nuts and watching a future adaptation of Emma. The Doctor still sat on the soft cushion on the floor by the tree with his gift in his hands.

"You like it, then?" Rose asked, sitting down beside him.

"Yes." He held out one hand, indicating the photo album. "May I?"

"Yeah!"

She handed it over and he began flipping through the pages, watching the collection of photos of himself, Rose, Jackie, Mickey, Shareen, and Bev from the Christmas, New Years Eve, and the days between last year. He lingered on the ones showing either him and Rose, or Rose and Mickey, fingers sometimes ghosting over the pictures.

"Are there more?"

"More photos?"

"Yes. From… Before," he said, rubbing at his earlobe. "And after. After too."

"There's some from when you wore leather," Jackie said around a mouthful of walnuts, "and some from whenever you've visited. And I have some sort of photo displaying machine thing Rose gave me a while back. Projects photos right on the wall, it does, and it's full of photos from your travels. Most is of the landscapes and that, but some are of the two of you. S'in my bedroom."

"I'll get them," Rose said, standing up.

"No, sit, sweetheart. I'll get them."

Rose waited until her mum had left the room before she placed a hand on the Doctor's shoulder, leaning in closer to get a read on him. "You all right?"

"Quite."

"What's with the photos?"

"Why have you never showed them to me?"

"Didn't think you were interested. You've never… I mean, I have photos around my mirror in my room, but you never really look at them. And I've been in your bedroom once or twice, and you don't have any photos at all."

HIs eyebrows lifted, mouth curved into a smile. "And yet you gave me a photo?"

"Well, yeah. Love that photo of us. We look…"

"Happy."

"Yeah. Thought you'd maybe..."

He hummed with a few slow nods. "I wonder if Jackie will find her way back."

"She'll just follow the carpet."

"Right."

Rose rubbed his shoulder. "You sure you're all right?"

"Yep." He inhaled and turned to her, bright expression on his face. "I'm quite all right, Rose."

Jackie returned, dropped off in the Doctor's lap several photo albums and the gadget she brought, and curled up in the sofa again. She draped a blanket over herself and opened a box of chocolates, looking the picture of contentment as the TARDIS changed discs and started playing _Sense and Sensibility_.

The Doctor took his time looking through pictures from Rose's childhood and teenage years, making no comments other than humming here and there. He slowed down further when they reached the point in Rose's life when she'd started dating Mickey. She bit her lip, watching the Doctor and his reactions more than the photos. He wore a neutral mask as he flipped through the pages, it cracking the slightest bit when his previous self made an appearance. His mouth twitched and he exhaled through his nose, tapping his old, daft face with his not-so-new-anymore index finger before running it over a younger Rose's beaming face.

"I don't have many from back then. Of us, I mean. You were a bit shy." She elbowed him in the side, grinning. "Not mugging it up for the camera like you do now, yeah?"

He made an amused sound in the back of his throat, flipping the page. "Oh, you have quite a few. More than enough."

He went through the rest of the album, then another, and finished up by watching the gadget project images on the wall next to the Christmas tree. He let out a thoughtful sigh and turned it off, arranging the objects into a neat stack before gathering them in his arms and carrying them over to the table in front of the sofa.

"Thank you, Jackie."

She patted his hand. "You're welcome, sweetheart. Now, hush. Edward's just about to tell Elinor that it's his brother who married that tart."

The Doctor chuckled and sat down on the other end of the sofa, patting the empty seat between him and Jackie, nodding to Rose to join them. She considered him for a moment, bemused smile on her lips, but pushed herself up on her feet and squeezed herself between him and her mum, watching the rest of the film.

* * *

.

* * *

"Thank you so much, Doctor. This was a lovely Christmas, it was. Just wonderful. I'm not even the slightest bit cross at you anymore." Jackie tugged him in by his lapels, showering his scrunched up face with kisses. "You might be alien, but you're a good bloke." She gave him a tight squeeze. "Just lovely. Yes, you are."

"Let me go." He pouted and extracted himself from her arms, moving closer to Rose. "Aaand, you're welcome. I'm glad I could make it up for you somehow."

"Oh, you did. More than enough, I'd say." Rose eyed the bigger-on-the-inside sack filled with presents slung over Jackie's shoulder. "I think you gave mum more gifts than she's got in all her life."

"I deserve it, though." Jackie tilted her chin up. "After all you put me through. First that year, then those bog monsters, and that Christmas tree destroying my flat, and–"

"Yeah, yeah. You deserve it, mum." Rose turned to the Doctor, slipping her arms around him and hugging him close for much longer than she usually did. "Thank you, Doctor. I had a lovely time. Good night."

She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek before releasing him and following her mum back to the flat but, as she put her hand on her bedroom door to step inside, the pensive face he wore when he flipped through the last album flashed up in her mind and she halted.

"You know what, mum? I just need to check on him. Don't wait up."

Rose ran back into the TARDIS, following the red carpet to the Christmas room, only to find it empty. She ran to the kitchen, the library, and the media room without any luck, so she sought out the corridor leading down to his bedroom, biting her lip and rapping her knuckles against the door. It opened on its own and revealed the Doctor standing by his bed, dressed in his t-shirt and boxer briefs, smiling at her.

"Oh, hello."

"Hi. Uhm, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to–"

"Come in."

"I, uhm…" She swung her arms around her body, letting her eyes wander about the room, drifting over his suit slung over the backrest of the chair standing in front of his cluttered desk, the dark blue bedspread covering his large bed, the photo she gave him placed on his nightstand... Her heart fluttered. "Oh. You…" She took a few steps forward and licked her lips, tongue struggling to form words.

"I was going to bed." He flipped the disc with the recordings in the air and caught it, winking at her as he placed it on the nightstand next to the photo. "Gotta use my gift, hm? Care to join me?"

A thrill ran through her, looping in her stomach. "Sorry, what?"

"Would you like to join me?"

"In bed?!"

He filled his chest with air, rubbing his neck as he exhaled. "When we stayed at that inn, we had to...share a bed, you know. Er… I wasn't just sleeping well because of the music, Rose."

"Oh. Oh! You like the company? Makes you feel…?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

She stood for a moment to think it over, but her heart raced in her chest and she didn't have a lucid thought in her mind.

"Rose?"

"Yeah, sure." Her eyes widened as she heard her words and she covered it up with a grin. "Lemme just pop into the loo, then?"

"Yeah." He nodded at a door in the other end of the room. "En suite's over there."

Rose's things–toothbrush, makeup remover, face cream, and the like–materialised on the sink right before her eyes as she went inside and she gave the walls a few thankful pats. She rushed through her evening routine and stepped back into the bedroom, finding the Doctor waiting in bed, covers turned down.

"I don't…" She glanced at her dress. "I just need to get something to sleep in."

"Oh." He pulled his t shirt over his head and tossed it at her. "There you go."

She blinked at him, clutching the garment to her chest.

"I won't look," he said, turning his back to her.

She slipped out of her dress and hung it over his suit before putting on his t shirt, drawing in a deep, but discreet, breath through her nose and humming when his scent filled her nose. Smiling, she crawled into bed with him, curling up on her side as he turned back to face her.

He beamed at her. "Hello."

"Hello." She paused for a moment, the beginnings of a flutter stirring in her stomach. "What's with the photos?"

"Ah. Well… They made me see something I've not… Hold on." The lights dimmed until she could just make him out, the slight curve of his mouth, the softness in his eyes. "I needed to see more to be sure."

"Sure of what?"

"You–" He cleared his throat. "You're in love with-with...me."

Her breath hitched before whooshing out of her. "Yeah. Yeah, I am," she said, heart pounding so hard she could feel it in her throat. "Thought you knew."

"No."

"No?" she said with a breathy laugh. "So me ripping your ship apart and flying into the future just 'cause I wanted to be with you, even though we might die, that didn't clue you in, then?"

"Hm…" He reached out for her hand, toying with her fingers. "So 'in love' might be a bit of an...understatement?"

"Yeah, just a bit. Yeah."

He watched their fingers entangle, his lashes casting long shadows on his cheeks she swore looked flushed. "I didn't know, Rose."

"S'okay." She took a deep breath to build some courage, feeling jitters running through her limbs and wiggling her toes to release some of it. "And-and what about you? How do you feel?"

"Oh, well," he said, releasing her hand and sliding his arm around her waist, tugging a bit. She scooted closer until she nearly bumped her nose into his. He laughed and her chest swelled with a held breath. "There are no words, really," he whispered against her lips before closing his mouth over them.

Her hand shot out, gripping around his upper arm as he slid his lips over hers, warm, soft and tasting a little of cinnamon, nuts, and ginger. She hummed and pressed herself closer, tongue touching the seam of his lips to beg for entrance, but he pulled away and leaned his forehead against hers.

"I need… I need to go slow."

"Oh. That's all right. I can go slow. Although," she said, face splitting into a mischievous grin, and she poked his chest, "inviting me to your bed might not be the best way to go about that, Doctor."

He chuckled, breath hitting her lips. "I can behave." He kissed her again, a slow brush of lips, nothing more, but it warmed her all the way down to her toes. "Can you?"

"Yes." She nuzzled his nose and gave him a quick peck on the mouth before pushing him to lie on his back so she could snuggle up against his side. "Not gonna lie. It will be hard. But I can. Mind you, if you're planning on making me wait a long time…?"

"No, I won't," he said with a laugh. "Promise. And...thank you."

"No. Thank you. For today. For doing this for mum, for–"

"I didn't do it for your mother, Rose."

"Oh." She nosed the soft skin of his chest, giggling when he squirmed a little. "Well, thank you either way."

"You're welcome." He reached out to his nightstand and touched the disc, smiling as the bards' singing filled the room. "Ready to go to sleep?"

"Yeah. Merry Christmas, Doctor."

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and wrapped his arms tighter around her. "Merry Christmas, Rose."

* * *

**the end**


End file.
